21 September 2015: Urbanization presents an opportunity to formulate a “global socio-economic development path that is equitable, inclusive, risk-informed and just,” writes Magdy Martínez-Solimán, Director, Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UN Development Programme (UNDP). In a post on the UNDP blog, Martínez-Solimán welcomes Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 on urban resilience and outlines key components of sustainable urban development.

According to Martínez-Solimán, climate change and disaster risk threaten cities and urban areas as well as small settlements, particularly those in fault zones or along coastlines. He highlights the importance of increasing resilience, improving infrastructure and building back better to minimize the impacts of climate change and natural disasters on urban areas. He also explains that strengthening urban resilience can contribute to poverty eradication.

Sustainable urban development, in Martínez-Solimán’s view, should include: urban- and local-governance systems equipped to make climate and disaster risk-informed development choices; streamlined planning and implementation among different government levels and sectors; policies based on a sustainable, long-term vision for growth and prosperity; community and stakeholder engagement with measures to decrease risk; and planning that keeps pace with development while also anticipating and responding to challenges related to exposures and vulnerabilities.

Martínez-Solimán concludes that “cities and human settlements will prove to be some of 2015’s biggest winners” of the SDGs. [UNDP Our Perspectives]